Personal clues to Greg Hunt’s impending exit

When Greg Hunt’s eyes filled with tears at a press conference several weeks ago it was clear that after 20 years in parliament he had reached a personal point of resignation.

Health Minister Greg Hunt in question time on Wednesday. Picture: Martin Ollman

When Greg Hunt’s eyes filled with tears at a press conference several weeks ago as he talked about threats to his family it was clear that after 20 years in parliament he had reached a personal point of resignation.

The Health Minister, like so many professional politicians before him, had sent an intensely personal signal into an intensely public political world that he was not going on.

Hunt revealed at that press conference, during which the terrorist killing of a British MP had been raised, that his own family had faced death threats.

“There was a period where, yeah, the lives of my children were threatened quite openly some years ago, and that it was a matter of great concern,” he said with tears in his eyes.

At that moment he revealed his exhaustion and concerns, and signalled a resignation. Such personal flashes from professional politicians can often send a message weeks or months before their official resignation, which is the case with Hunt.

At a 1993 press conference the then Labor treasurer, John Dawkins, simply said his heart sank every time he had to board the plane for the long flight from his home in Perth to parliament in Canberra. It seemed a throw­away line but it presaged his ­resignation.

In 2001 Peter Reith, who held Hunt’s seat of Flinders and was the hard man of the Howard government, ­always appeared in a dark suit to match his dark role.

Yet in one question time, Reith appeared in a light-blue suit, which was so out of character it was remarked upon. Yet again it was a sign that a long-term professional politician had decided to retire.

In 1986 the presence of ­Neville Wran’s wife, Jill, in the gallery of the NSW ALP conference was a signal of his intention to resign as premier.

These politicians resigned after hard years, tough opposition, exhausting challenges, family pressures and career disappointments, yet the personal turmoil was present before the act of resignation.

For Hunt, choking back tears while recalling threats made against his family was that ­moment. It wasn’t the whole reason but it was the moment he ­declared his intention.

“They are overwhelmingly public servants that seek to serve the nation, and there will be differing views and different approaches,” he said.

“But this notion of national tolerance and mutual respect is something I believe in … we follow the advice of the police at a state and federal level based on threat assessments, but it’s that culture of mutual respect, which is critical,” he said.

The emotional response came after 20 years in parliament for Hunt both in opposition and government, backbench and ministry, and two years of managing the federal health response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hunt, aware of the difficulties created by state rivalries and a lack on central medical advice in responding to the Spanish flu 100 years ago, ensured from the beginning that those mistakes would not be repeated.

In parliament, as The Australian reported his retirement, Hunt launched into a spirited ­defence of the Coalition’s “Australian way” of dealing with vaccinations, quarantine and restrictions.

“The Australian response is one of the finest and most profound outcomes in the world,” he said. “The Australian way has saved lives.”

He spoke as a public politician and Health Minister, but without hinting at a still undeclared decision to resign from the fray.